Are you managing a small business? We believe & understand that it is nothing short of a feat in itself. Managing money & time, allocating proper resources, hiring & retaining the right people, the stress, the fatigue – everything seems like a spear headed challenge. On top of all of this, if I ask you to be active on social media, what will your reaction be? Something like this – “It’s the last thing on my mind”, “Who has the time?”, “It’s a never ending party, who has the time & energy to invest in social media when there is already so much to take care of?”, “I am in a non-technical field, why do I even need it?”.

Is your head continuously nodding away to those answers? Does the above describe you? If yes, then, may we say, it’s time for you to reconsider. It’s time to give some serious thought towards what social media can do to your business. If you thought you can avoid social media or run a business without it, you were highly mistaken.

A survey done in January 2015 by Jeff Bullas, Jeffbullas.com Pty Ltd., tells us that out of 3 billion active Internet users worldwide, 2.1 billion people have social media accounts, again, out of which 1.7 billion have ACTIVE social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram. And there are what, 7.2 billion people on the planet! Can you see what you are missing out on? As Dee Anna McPheron, vice president of marketing at Hootsuite puts it, “Social media is the new golf-course – it’s where the buyers are; it’s where your customers are. That’s where you need to go to build relationships.”

Now you say how do we do it? How do we keep this never-ending party going, where attendance alone is insufficient? I agree, it is a big and continuous splash. The pressure can produce a classic effort-reward imbalance. But, with a defined digital space, a strong strategy coupled with realistic expectations can make wonders to your business. The biggest mistake a small business makes is by hastily jumping into multiple social media streams. You create accounts and start sharing without ever really considering your audience. Slow down. Look at the data before you start investing. Who is your customer? Which social media channels do they frequent? What kind of content gets shared, retweeted, etc.? Content can be tricky, very tricky, but a little effort into the stats, a little experimenting here and there, and you are ready to rock and roll.

While I can go on and on with this, let me first address the basic question that is haunting you – “how does my business benefit from social media”? Let me throw some light.

It helps you build trust with your audience. A professional account, authentic videos/pictures helps you connect with your audience and helps build their trust in your business.

It is the easiest way to learn about your audience. The key to success in any business is knowing your audience & social media makes it not only possible but also easier to accomplish.

It will help you target your audiences more effectively. Better target, better results.

It will help you find new customers and expand your audience.

It will allow you to connect with your audience and build better & meaningful relationships. Instant feedback from your customers gives you valuable insights into their perspectives, thereby making you stay on your feet to improvise.

It will help you gain key information about your competitors, thereby improving your market intelligence and helping you stay ahead in your field by making strategic decisions.

So you built a website for your business. Now what? Well, social media will not only help you direct people to your website, but the more social media shares you receive, the higher your search ranking will be. If you don’t get a lot of time, you can even take help from tools such as- Solomofy or opt for self serve tools.

Get your content reach your audience in the shortest possible time.

Want to generate leads? What better and easier way than social media and that too with one-third the cost of traditional marketing.

You will be able to increase brand awareness and reach with little to no budget.

Flaunt your expertise, your way – and let the world know that you are the master of your trade.

Do you need any more reasons than this to get the ball rolling? As Pam Moore, CEO & Founder, Marketing Nutz says, “You can never go wrong by investing in communities and the human beings within them.”